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"The dragons run amok across Tamriel.
The Civil War has left a festering scar on Skyrim.
Politicians still scheme over whom is to be the next Emperor.
And now the Great War has begun again.
But war and dragons are not the only threat to Tamriel…"
-THEME-
"The dragons run amok across Tamriel.
The Civil War has left a festering scar on Skyrim.
Politicians still scheme over whom is to be the next Emperor.
And now the Great War has begun again.
But war and dragons are not the only threat to Tamriel…"
-THEME-
Fan-Fiction | Fantasy | Open-world
The Setting (Messy WIP):
The year is 4E 224. Set a mere twenty years after the defeat of Alduin, Tamriel once again finds itself strife with conflict and many of its citizens are in danger. Not only has the war between the Empire and the Aldmeri Dominion has been resparked, but many other things threaten to consume the land. Many dragons appear to have escaped the wrath of the Dragonborn and continue to ravage the mortal races, now having spread beyond Skyrim. The presence of Daedra appears to be as strong as ever, despite the sacrifice of Martin Septim over two hundred years ago. And now rumours are beginning to circulate that towns and individuals are being replaced by evil body snatchers; although many of these rumours have been supposedly disproved, the moral panic is having some widespread effects.
The last Dragonborn has long since disappeared and details surrounding what happened around the time he defeated Alduin are still somewhat sketchy. Still, it is clear that he had a very severe impact on Skyrim and that has resulted in the conflict that has arisen now. Some claim that the Dragonborn supported the Empire during the civil war, others claim the Stormcloaks, and a few even claim he was a neutral party. What is known for sure is that the Empire suffered incredibly heavy losses, including the death of General Tullius, whilst Ulfric Stormcloak and his rebellion were eventually wiped out. The combination of civil war and the return of the Dragons left Skyrim, and by extension the Empire, weakened considerably. During this period of conflict the Emperor Titus Mede II was also assassinated, possibly even by the Dragonborn, which led to the Empire falling into further turmoil. These events and others prompted the Aldermi Dominion to break the peace treaty and strike again.
This RP begins on the third night of the siege of Leyawin. During the night multiple people across Tamriel find themselves in a horrific nightmare before being freed by a mysterious being wielding a hammer. These individuals awake to find a dark scar marked onto their chests, where the hammer had stuck. There is no damage however nor any obvious signs of other lasting effects. It is clear that these markings are not natural and that there is an air of magic about them, but even experienced mages struggle to explain the marks. Given the current state of affairs, some people bearing the marks simple do not care and have more important things to deal with (in their opinion). Others make it their sole mission to learn more about the mysterious dream and mark. You are one of these marked individuals, but what will you do?
The last Dragonborn has long since disappeared and details surrounding what happened around the time he defeated Alduin are still somewhat sketchy. Still, it is clear that he had a very severe impact on Skyrim and that has resulted in the conflict that has arisen now. Some claim that the Dragonborn supported the Empire during the civil war, others claim the Stormcloaks, and a few even claim he was a neutral party. What is known for sure is that the Empire suffered incredibly heavy losses, including the death of General Tullius, whilst Ulfric Stormcloak and his rebellion were eventually wiped out. The combination of civil war and the return of the Dragons left Skyrim, and by extension the Empire, weakened considerably. During this period of conflict the Emperor Titus Mede II was also assassinated, possibly even by the Dragonborn, which led to the Empire falling into further turmoil. These events and others prompted the Aldermi Dominion to break the peace treaty and strike again.
This RP begins on the third night of the siege of Leyawin. During the night multiple people across Tamriel find themselves in a horrific nightmare before being freed by a mysterious being wielding a hammer. These individuals awake to find a dark scar marked onto their chests, where the hammer had stuck. There is no damage however nor any obvious signs of other lasting effects. It is clear that these markings are not natural and that there is an air of magic about them, but even experienced mages struggle to explain the marks. Given the current state of affairs, some people bearing the marks simple do not care and have more important things to deal with (in their opinion). Others make it their sole mission to learn more about the mysterious dream and mark. You are one of these marked individuals, but what will you do?
Rules/Things to consider:
- I want this to be as lore-friendly as possible. However I do acknowledge that this is fan-fiction and Elder Scrolls’ lore is somewhat complicated and even contradictory at the best of times anyway.
- This RP won’t see players huddled together as part of a single team. Instead players will be given free-reign over what their character does, where they go, and who they do and do not speak to. Your player can form their own group and sit in the corner of the world in a cave for all I care. This not only encourages creativity but means that if someone drops out it doesn’t really have much of an effect. Also means people can join at will.
- Players should strive for balance and feasibleness. You are not the Hero of Kvatch nor are you the Dragonborn – you cannot master every type of magic, be the world’s best swordsman and spend your evenings forging dragon bone armour.
- I would like your characters to progress, both personally and in regards to skills and weapons. Therefore start with crap armour and stuff please. And no powerful artefacts, be they daedric or otherwise!
- You can have followers and create/kill NPCs at your will.
- Magic and skills aren’t restricted to the skills game characters can learn. But still try keep it lore friendly. Keep it balanced! And no flying.
- You can be minor characters from previous games, although I discourage this.
- There will be multiple plot-lines which I’ll weave in with various methods. One for example will be me posting rumours which you can then have your character hear IC. You can however make your own ones up! You can even be a dick and interfere in other players made-up plots!
- You can fight and kill each other! I encourage your CHARACTERS to be dicks to each other, but not if that means you PLAYERS being dicks to each other. Agreeing to collabing an epic battle OOC = awesome. Not talking OOC and then suddenly shooting another character in the eye = bit of a dick move. And try not to swear or use bad language too much, dicks.
- I am an awful GM. Just awful. I will unexpectedly drop off the face of the Earth for months. If you are happy to casually go on without me or usurp me then this RP should be fine. If however this is likely to cause problems in your mind, then I suggest you jump out of the nearest window.
Timeline and Lore
You can find a useful timeline here on the Elder Scrolls Wikia. You can find lots of other useful information on that site, as well as on UESP. Of course, as this is set after Skyrim, it means that there is no lore (that I know of) on the current period or the last twenty years. For the sake of story and setting I've already made up some huge parts of it, and you can find it attached to the end of the timeline below and within my other writing! As long as you don't contradict me or existing lore too much, I'm happy for you to make crap up to your hearts content (obviously, this is an RP).
Map and Political Geography
Just to clarify a couple of points about borders, because both the lore and this OOC make things a bit hazy. In this RP I've assumed that following the White-Gold Concordat, Bravil and Leyawiin remained in Domion control; most people seem to think that they became part of Cyrodill again, but I can't make sense of why. At the start of this RP, Leyawiin is back in the hands of the Empire but is besieged by the Dominion. Anvil and Skingrad are both in the hands of the Empire, but have taken damage. Kvatch however is under Dominion rule, and Mer infest the highlands. Hammerfell is independent of the Empire and it's not under occupation. Black Marsh is independent and holds some of the south of Morrowind. Morrowind is independent but is in an awful state. Skyrim is under Empire rule but is still recovering from the Civil War and the return of Alduin. High Rock is under Empire control.
Here is a map that may help. It's a modified version of a map that I've found on a few different sites (no idea who the original creator is). I welcome discussion on this issue, as I do with every other topic.
Here is a map that may help. It's a modified version of a map that I've found on a few different sites (no idea who the original creator is). I welcome discussion on this issue, as I do with every other topic.
Banner Competition:
Because the banner I made is awful, there is to be a competition for best banner design! Entries must be made before the RP starts. You don't actually have to make it yourself, you can commission someone else, but you must give the actual creator credit (that doesn't mean you won't still get the prize though). The Banner can be anything you want, but must have the RP title on it. Winner will be voted on by the players, although I will have 2 votes (because FU). The winner's character will retrieve a decent weapon from existing lore either prior to the start of the RP or at the start.
TL;DR – Elder Scrolls fan-fiction set a couple of decades after the events of Skyrim.
If you are interested then of course say so! Please fill out a character sheet and then post it in the OOC for review! If you do make a CS now then don’t edit the link page (copy & paste it) and ensure you use hiders. I am an advocate of community review, whereby players review each others character sheets; I think it's good to air criticisms straight away. Don't be too harsh when reviewing a CS. Don't get too defensive when a CS flaw is exposed. And don't go off in a hump if your first CS is rejected. Also, feel free to review mine.
